Taiwan Economic News has recently reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC), the makers of Apple’s upcoming processor chip, dubbed the A6, has only just begun its trial run of production.

Last month, buzz was spreading about Apple’s potential shift away from Samsung’s A5 processor and towards a newer, faster chip manufactured by the world’s largest semiconductor foundry. Today, it looks like those dreams are becoming a reality.

GigaOm described TSMC’s design for the new A6 as utilizing a 28-nanometer process, along with 3D stacking technologies. This coupled with the fact that the chip is based on the ARM architecture will make it a lower-powered, faster-processing chip than the A4 or A5. This kind of advanced technology supports the rumor that Apple is considering merging their iOS and Mac OS operating systems.

Taiwan Economic News also reported that TSMC has been courted by Apple for a while now, but did not have the additional capacity to meet their needs. With the recent economic turmoil, TSMC has freed up some space and is ready to push, full-steam ahead, with A6 production.

According to CENS, the new chip is scheduled to be publicly unveiled in the second quarter of 2012, which fits more in line with Apple’s regularly scheduled new product releases. So, for those hoping for a surprise iPad 3 coming in the next few months, you will probably be waiting a little longer.